Device for adjusting sieves in threshing-machines.



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DEVICE EOE ADJUSTING SIEVES IN VTHEEEHING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED MAILS, 1904.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

WITNESSES."

N0. 806,508. PATENTED DEG. 5, 1905.

. J. A. STEELSMITH. DEVICE POR ADJUSTING SIEVES IN THRBSHING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED MAILS. 1904.,

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

IH UH:

, J. A'. STEELSMITH. y y .DEVICE PoR ADJUSTING sIvEs IN THRESHING MACHINES,

`APPLIAIION FILED MAR-.3. 1904.

A from 1 ,'UNIT ,STATES Jol-in A.- srEELsMiTH,l o F WICHITA FALLS, TExAs. DEVICE Fonl ADJUSTING slEi/Esfm TH'BEsHlNe-MAGHINES.

Specication of Letters Patent.

PATENT oiniion.jA

Patented Dec. 5, 1905.

To a/ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it kno-wnthat' I, JOHN A. STEELsMiTH, acitizen of the United States, and a resident of'Wichita Falls, in the county of Wichita and State of Texas, have invented a new and- Improved Device for Adjusting Sieves in Threshing-Machines, of'which the following v is a full,.c ear, and exact description.

The purpose of the invention is tolprovide a very simple, economic,` and effective mechanism for adjusting the sieves in a threshing- `machine eitherup or down at either end of the sieve-frame, which mechanismis capable of being o erated by one individual from the outsideo the machine, and, further, to so construct the devicethat where the 'motion of the machine is not too. rapid the vadjustment of the sieves can'be ma e while the machineV is in motion. j

Another pur ose of the invention is inthe construction o the mechanism to employ 'rods which pass directly across the shoe, acting as supports for the sieve or sieves, and'by this means of adjustment much of the operator s time is savedv and the convenience with which the adjustment can be made enables the operator to change Athe position of thel sievea great many times and thereby better ystruction and combination ofthe several parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth,

and pointed out in the claim.

.Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this speciiication, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a side elevation vof the shoe having the improved adjusting device applied, the hand-wheel and lock-nuts being removed and the hand-wheel being shown in dotted lines, the said view representing that portion of the shoe at which the operator generally stands. Fig. 2 is a frontelevation of one of the adjusting devices adapted to be located on that side of the shoe at which the operator stands, the saidadjusting device being in complete form. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal verticalsection takenpractically on the line 33 of'Fig. 4 showin' two sieves in position, one in positive and t e other in dotted lines; and Fig. 4 is a plan view of the shoe, the sieve, and

verse vertical section taken on the line5 5 of Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is an inner face. view of' a locking-plate employed in connection With the adjusting devices, and Fig. 7 is4 an end view of the said plate. Y y

A represents the shoe for the threshingmachine,and B a sieve for thev same, one or more of which may be em loyed. At opposite sides of the deeper en ofthe shoe vertical and transversely registering slots 10 are employed, as is shown in Fi 3, and in `corres onding relation at the sha oWer end of the s oe shorter vertical slots 11 are formed. The shoe is provided with the usual hingin'g-supportsY 12.

An `adjusting late C is secured to the outer face of the s oe at the slots 10 and 11, and said adjusting-plates are of substantially' i" applied adjusting devices.- Fig.. y5 is a transincide with the slots 10 y'and 11 in the shoe.

Each adjusting-plate C-is of angular construction, as is shown in Fig. 4, com rising a body u14, in which the aforesaid s ot 13 is made, which body is adapted to lie close to the body of the shoe, and a rack 15, which is longitudinally and vertically formed or sepression 18 is made in the outer face of the plate, and on this depressed surface a scale c .is produced, reading, for exam le, from 1 to 9, and the scales on said atten adjusting-plates C read relativelto each other.. The adjusting-plates C are secured to the shoe by bolts 19 or their equivalents.

In the further construction of each adjusting-plate C ribs or corrugations 16 are produced upon its outer face, extending transversely preferably from the rack 15 to the depression 18, as is shown in Fig. 1, and'from the to to the bottom of the said adjusting-plate. l

A locking-plate C is employed in connecton with each adjusting-plate C, one ofw'hich locking-plates isishown in detail in Figs. 6 and 7 The locking plate C is provided with corrugations .or ribs 20 on its yinner face at its upper portion adapted to engage with body 14 of the ing rod D a nut 26 is located, adapted the corrugations on the bodjy14 of an adjusting-plate, and at the central portion of the corrugated or ribbed surface 2() an aperture 22 is located, While other apertures 22a are located in longitudinal alinement in the lower or plain face of the locking-plate, as is shown in Fig. 3. At one side of the locking-plate a pointer 22b is mounted adapted as said locking-plate is moved to travel over the scale-depression 18, as is shown in Fig. 1.

Two lugs 21 are formed upon the ribbed or corrugated face of the locking-plate C, which lugs have sliding movement in the slots 10 and 11 of the shoe and the slots 13 of the adjusting-plate, in connection with which the locking-plate is employed. These lugs 21 serve to guide a locking-plate in its movement upon an adjusting-plate.

The sieve B is shown supported at the deeper end of the shoe A by means of a rod D, which rod passes through the slots 10 in the shoe and through the slots 13 in the adjusting-plates C.

Adjacent to each end of the supportingrodBD, outside of the shoe, a polygonal section 23a is formed, and on one polygonal section of the said supporting-rod D a pinion 23 is mounted,` having integral therewith or attached thereto a hand-wheel 24, by means of which the rod D is turned, and upon the opposite polygonal section 231 of the said sievesupporting rod D another pinion 23b is mounted. These inions engage with the rack-teeth 17 on t e racks 15 or' the adjusting-plates C.

The extremities 27 of the sieve-supporting rod D are threaded, and one end, that at which the pinion 23' is located, is provided with a nut 25, adapted when tightly screwed to engage with the pinion 23, while at the opposite threaded end of the sieve-supporti'or engagement with the pinion 23a. Ordinarily the sieve-supporting rod D is passed through the up er apertures 22 in the locking-plates C at tlie portions of the shoe mentioned, as shown in Fig. 5; but it will be understood that the said sieve-supporting rod D may be passed through any one of the lower apertures 22et in the aforesaid locking-plates; but the principal purpose of the lower aperture '22a 1n the locking-plates is to receive any plain rod threaded on each end, adapted for the reception of a thumb-nut or its equivalent, and such rods so placed are intended to carry one or more additional sieves. Ordinarily the added rod is used in the upper holes of the locking-plates C at all times, and by loosening the nuts carried by the lower rod when it is used the adjustment of the sieves is proceeded with in the manner above 1 eXplaine At or about the'central portion of the sieve B a foot 28 is secured in any approved manner, (shown best in Figs. 3 and 5,) which foot extends beneath the aforesaid sieve-supports ing bar D, enabling the sieve to be readilysupported by the said rod and yet to have longitudinal movement in the slice.- j

ln the adjustment of the sie've at the deeper end of the shoe A it is sim ply required to loosen the nut 25 and shift the rod D slightly toward the opposite nut 26, which need not be attended to, the object being by this movement of the rod to disconnect the locking-plates from their locking adjustment with the adjusting-plates, so that at sueh time the hand-wheel 24 may be turned and the pinions 23 and 23", traveling on the racks 15 of the adjusting-plates, will cause this delivery end of the sieve to be raised or lowered as far as may be required. When suitable adjustment has been reached, by simply tightening the nut 25 against the pinion 23, having the wheel 24 attached, the lockingplates are again brought in engagement with the adj usting-plates, and the rods D are held in their adjusted position.

With reference to the support for the sieve at the receiving or shallower end of the shoe a rod D is employed which corresponds to the rod D, and the adjusting devices are duplicated. The rod D" is operated in the same manner as the rod D; but the adjustingplates at the shallower end of the shoe are of less length than those at the deeper or discharge end. Another dii'l'erence, however, resides in the fact that the receiving or shal-v lower end of the sieve B instead Of being supported upon its rod D is pivotally carried by the said rod D through the medium ol suitable knuckles 2), through which the said rod Dl passes, as is clearly shown in Fig. 4:.

The scales c are used in the following manner; When an adjustment has been made at one end of the shoe-the deeper end, for example-and the pointers 22b on the lockingplate C are brought opposite the iigure 5 on the scale over which they travel, a corresponding adjustment for the sieve may be made at the shallow end of the shoe by carrying the pointers 22b at that end downward to a corresponding ligure onthe scale on the adjusting-plates at the said shallower ends, It will be understood, however, that independent adjustment of the sieve may be made at either end of the shoe and that all the adustments are made from one side of the shoe, so that the adjustments are under the complete control of a single operator.

I desire it to be understood thatthe wheels 24 for operating the rods D and D are at that side of the shoe at which the operator usually stands and that on the adjusting-plates at the opposite side of the shoe the scales c are not required, nor is it re uired that the pointers 22b shall 'form a portion of' the lockiplg-plates at the latter-mentioned side of the s oe.

Having thus described my invention, I

ICQ

ciaim as new and desire'to secure by Letters l Patent- In devices for` adjusting the sieves in threshing-machines, the combination with a 'shoe providedv With opposing slots in its sides atjits end portions, adjusting-plates secured to the outer faces of the slotted portions of the shoe, Whichplates are provided With slots' corresponding .to those in the shoe, being also rovided With corrugations upon their outer aces j a longitudinal rack extending from one side edge of each adjusting-plate, a depression being produced at the opposingside edge of each adjusting-plate, and scales upon said depressed surfaces, locking-plates in engagement With the adjusting-plates, being movable thereon and provided with a series of vertically-aiming apertures and corrugations upon -their inner Jfaces, together with guide-lugs Whichenter the slots in the adjusting-plates, extending over the said scalesurfaces7 of rods passed through certain ofy the openingsin the' locking-plate, a sieve pivotally connected 4Withone rod and provided with an open bracket upon its under face ref Witnesses:

1 `W. L. ROBERTSON,

T. T. REEsE.

' JOHN A. STEELSMITH. 

